The Long-haul COVID-19 in Children and Teens

I cannot think of a single person who is not sick and tired of hearing about COVID-19 and I mean really sick and tired.  However, a recent review by Dr. Peter Rowe, MD in healthychildren.org is an interesting discussion about the long-haul COVID-19 in children and teens.

Most have heard about “long haul COVID”.  This is a condition that occurs after an infection with the COVID virus.  It has become clear that some individuals after being infected have symptoms more than a month after the infection.

Most children and teens who test positive for COVID-19 have mild, or even no, symptoms.  No one is certain exactly how many people who’ve had COVID-19 end up being long haulers.  One study showed that as many as 52% of teens and young adults between the ages 16-30 may experience lingering symptoms 6 months after having COVID.  The U.K. Office for National Statistics estimated that 12.9% of children 2 to 11 years of age and 14.5% of children 12 to 16 years old, still experience symptoms 5 weeks after infection.

Experts now know that even in people who had mild or no symptoms can experience long haul COVID.  The symptoms they had during the acute infection may not go away, even long after their infection is gone.  Sometimes, long-haul COVID starts after a person is feeling better.  Or even if they didn’t have symptoms they may experience them later.  Note this is not restricted to those patients requiring hospitalization.

The most common symptoms of long-haul COVID include Fatigue and poor physical endurance, difficulty thinking or concentrating (“brain fog”), cough, trouble breathing, joint or muscle pain, chest or stomach pain, mood changes, headaches, fever, heart palpitations, loss of or changes in smell or taste, lightheadedness when standing up.

There has also been a condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) which is a serious condition that may be related to COVID-19.  Doctors don’t know for sure what causes MIS-C but do know that it happens in children who have had COVID or been around someone with it.  It is very rare.

There is no specific test to diagnose long-haul COVID so it is diagnosed based on symptoms.  Your pediatrician may run other tests or refer you to a pediatric sub-specialist, especially if symptoms continue for more than 3 months.  It is important to know that there is nothing else causing these symptoms.

No one knows how long it will last or why some people have long-haul COVID and others do not.  Treatment depends on what the symptoms are and sometimes each individual symptom will need a specific treatment.  If your child has been infected with the COVID virus, it is recommended that you stay in touch with your pediatrician to monitor for any lingering symptoms.  If needed they can refer you to the correct subspecialists.